Brooks



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

E. J. BROOKS.

SEAL.

. No. 312,963. Patented Fe INVENTOR 1176? waard fo 07m,

By 72225' .fitter/ey v (No Model.) 2 Smets-sheen 2. E. J. BROOKS.

SEAL.

No. 312,963. Patented Feb. 24, 1885.

AS" t A WITN ESSES C Unirse @rares .armar rare e..

EDVARD J. BROOKS, OF EAST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOE TO E. J.

BROOKS & OO., OF

NEV YORK, N. Y.

SFECIFECATON forming part of Letters Patent No. 312,963, dated February24, 1885.

Appication tiled October 2l, 1884. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it knownthat I, EDWARD J. Bnooks, a

citizen ofthe United States, residing at East Orange, in the State ofNew Jersey, have in- 5 vented a new and useful Iinproven'ient in Seals,

{Q-2,) of which the following isa specification.

This is an improve( self-fastening77 seal embodying certain improvementson those set rop, forth in my specification forming partA of UnitedStates Patent No. 304,258, dated August 26, 1884.

rllhe present invention consists, primarily, in the combination, with. aflexible shackle adapted to be applied' to ordinary sealingstaples orthe like, a brittle hollow seal part having internal catch-shoulders,and an elastic securer attached to one or both shackle ends, of a rigidpusher carried by the shackle 2o in contact with said securer forthrusting the securer through the contracted mouth-of said seal partwithout reliance upon the shackle, so that uptight-fitting securer maybe readily forced into effective position, and at the same time theshackle may be so flexible or brittle as to preclude its use for thispurpose.

This invention consists, further, in making said pusher integral with acap-disk so fitted to the mouth of said seal part and so united 3o withthe securer as to be held'by the latter over or within said mouth, so asto preclude tampering with the securer.

This invention consists, finally, in a brittle hollow seal part ofplasterofparis or alike composition, which can be molded cold andhardens without burning, in combination with a flexible shackle of cordor twine, the former molded fast on one end of the latter, so as torender them inseparable, an elastic securer 4o connected with the otherend of the shackle, and a rigid pusher carried by the shackle in contactwith saidV securer, substantially as hereinafter set forth.

Two sheets of drawings accompany this specifg 5 cation as part thereof.

Figure lof these drawings is an elevation of a seal ready for use,illustrating this invention. Fig. 2 is an elevation of the same, showingend views of its seal part and securer.

5o Fig. 3 is an elevation of the same seal fastened, and Fig. 4 is alongitudinal sect-ion of its seal cations of the same invention, andFig. 15 is a view of the metallic securer ol the latter detaehed and twomodified forms ofthe same.

' Likeletters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severalligures.

Y In carryingV out my present inventionthe seal may be of either oi thethree general forms set forth in my previous specification aforesaid,and shown inthe drawings accompanying the saine; but, preferring thefirst and last of said forms, 1' have confined the drawings aecoin11anying this. specification thereto to avoid unnecessary prolixity.

. rllhe several seals, represented, respectively, by Figs. 1 to 4,inclusive, Figs. 6 and 7, Figs. `7 to 9, inclusive, and Figs. 10 to 14,inclusive, are each composed of a flexible shackle, Aoi' Ax or Ay or Ae,a brittle hollowr seal part, B or Bx or By or Bs, having a taperingmouth, m, and internal shoulders, s, an elasticseeurer, O or Ox or Oy orCe, adapted to be thrustv through said mouth m, and to expand behindsaid shoulders s, so as to prevent its withdrawal, and a combined pusherand cap-disk,

D or Dx or Dy or De, for so thrusting said se-.

eurer into effective position, said securer and pusher and cap-diskbeing closely united with each other by the shackle in the fastenedseal, so as to preclude withdrawing the cap-disk to expose the mouth ofthe seal part after the seal is fastened. In said seal (represent` ed byFigs. 1 to 4, inclusive, which is of the first of said general forms,`)the shackle A is of cord or twine provided with knots k k2 Irl, and theseal part B and pusher and cap-disk D, both of plaster-of-paris, aremolded fast on its respective endswith said knots 7.5"' k" within themrespectively as anchoring devices to preclude the separation of theparts, the securer C, which is in this seal an axially-perforated cork,being attached by said knot k. Supposing the securer to be firstattached and ICO said knotsk2 7c formed approximately in correctpositions, it will be seen that with the shackle passed through themolds of said seal part and pusher and cap-disk these parts will bemolded fast on the shackle, as aforesaid, with the pusher p of thepusherand cap-disk in close contact with the securer, as is required forthe4 greatest security against'manipulation of the latter through themouth of the seal part.

In said seal represented by Figs. 5 and 6,

' which is of the last of said general forms, vthe parts are not thusinseparably united in the process of manufacture, but may be :finishedseparately. Its shackle Ax is of stiff wire furnished with a pair of mydetector77 e11- largementS, e e2, near its respective extremities, whichlatter are rebent or hooked, as represented at h h2, to unite therespective shackle ends with the securer Cx before thrusting the latterinto the seal part Bx to fasten the seal. This seal part is molded withreference to tting said'pusher and cap-disk Dx and admitting andretaining said securer, but otherwise is finished independently ofeither of the other parts. The securer Gx is of cork, like said securerC, but with a larger axial bore, and preferably tapered to a sharp edgeat its lower en'd, as represented. The pusher and cap-disk Dx is moldedwith an axial bore w, of very little more than double the diameter ofthe wire of which the shackle Aw is composed, so that it will just admitthe two shackle ends straight. Each of said enlargements e e2 being ofthree thicknesses of the wire, either of them will thus form a stop,which the pusher and cap-disk cannot pass, so that by inserting andbending up one shackle end, to form the hook h, for example, all themembers of the seal, exceptthe seal part Bx, may be unitedpreliminarily, as represented by dotted lines in Fig. 5, and in thefastened seal with both shackle ends inserted and bent up, as shown inFig. 6, the separation of the pusher and cap-disk from the securer iseffectively prevented.

The two seals represented by Figs. 7 to 10, inclusive, and Figs. 11 to15, inclusive, as aforesaid, are both of said iirst general form, anddiffer from the one first described in certain details of their shacklesAy Az and seal parts By Bz with the securer Cz, and the pusher andcap-disk Dz of the last, which will now'be set forth. The `shackle Ay isa flat shackle,7 and may be a piece of flat wire or a strip of tin orother sheet metal adapted to be crimped or bent, as represented at a,for example, to securely anchor it within the seal part and the pusherand cap-disk, and rebent, as represented at b, for example, to lock thesecurer on its' otherwise free end in contact with the pusher andcap-disk. A shackle of this description may be provided in customarymanner with lettering or other marks, as represented at c, Fig. 8, forexample, to afford information, and atthe same time preventcounterfeiting. The shackle Az is of my indented detector-wire, itsindentations i affording effective holds within the molded seal part andpusher and cap-disk,while they guard against tampering` with-the seal.Other styles of Wire shackles and flexible shackles of other kinds maybe used in like manner.

rIhe seal part By is represented as molded with lettering d,corresponding as initials with the shackle-marks c, Fig. 8, and the sealpart Bz with a number, n, whichmay be a station-number. Either style ofmark or any other may be used on any or all of the seals, or distinctiveshapes, colors, or proportions alone may be relied on.

The securer` Cz is of elastic sheet'metal, preferably brass, stamped soas to have a middle portion, which will pass freelythrough the mouth mof the seal part, and adapted, by a central hole, o, Fig. 15, forexample, to be attached to the extremity of the pusher p by the rebentend of the shackle, and the material of the pusher molded about it, asrepresented in Figs. 11, 12, and 14, or otherwise.

The effective portions of the securer consist of inclined radialfingers, which are properlyset at the stamping operation. Two fingerswill suffice; but metallic securers Ca Cb, Fig. 15, with three or morefingers, may be made of lighter sheet metal, so as to be inserted morereadily. The fingers should to-V gether afford sufficient resistance tostrain in the direction of withdrawal to preclude loosening the cap-diskby so straining the securer without such injury to some part of the sealas to insure detection.

The pusher and cap-disk Dz hasa marginal flange, f, Figs. 12 and 14, toembrace a pro-k truding lip, l, at the mouth end of the seal part Bz,while those of the other seals have the pusher p of each adapted insteadto fill the mouth m of the seal part.

One manner of guardingthe mouth is considered the equivalent of theother, and either may be used in either of the seals.

The first, third, and fourth of the seals above described leave thefactory with all their members permanently united, as represented inFigs. 1, 7, and 11. In applying either of these to a car-door, forexample, as represented by Figs. 4, 5, 10, 11, 13, and 14, it is onlynecessary to pass its securer through a pair of sealing-staples, S, forexample, and then thrust the securer, by means of its pusher andcapdisk, into and through the mouth m of the seal part. rlhe securerthen automatically expands close behind the internal shoulders, s, sothat it cannot be withdrawn, and through the shackle end to which it isapplied anchored in any manner in the pusher and seal-disk, holds thedisk of the latter over said mouth of the seal part so tightly that evena shallow flange, f, Fig. 11, will suffice to prevent lateraldisplacement thereof; and with a tightly-fitting pusher, p, as shown,for example, in Fig. 5 or Fig. 14, this is not required.

passed through the sealing-staples S, must have IOO IIO

The second seal, Figs. 5 and 6, after its shackle Ax has been the secondshackle end inserted through the pusher and cap-disk Dm and securer Cxand rebent to forin its hook h2, after which' the securer is thrust intothe seal part Bx by means of the pusher and cap-disk, as'represented byFig. 6, and operates to secure both shackle ends precisely as each ofthe'other securers secures the one to which itis at-tached, 'and serves,moreover, by means of the two shackle ends and their stop-enlargements ee2, to hold the pusher and cap-disk D00 in place, so that the' adaptedto be molded cold, an'd which does notrequire baking, is essential tothe employment of a shackle of cord or twine as proposed.

Having thus described my said improvenient in seals, (Q-2,) I claim asmy invention and desire to patent under this speciiicationl. Thecombination, in a self-fastening seal, of a flexible shackle, a brittlehollow seal part having an inwardly-tapering month and internal catch(shoulders, an elastic securer attached to one or both shackle ends, anda rigid. pusher carried by the shackle in contact with said securer, forthrusting` the securer through said mouth of the seal part intoeffective position behind said internal shoulders, substantiall asherein specified.

2. The combination, in a self-fastening seal, of a ilexible shackle, abrittle hollow seal part having an inwardly-'tapering mouth and internalcatch-shoulders, an elastic securer attached to one or both shackleends, and a combined pusher and cap-disk carried bythe shacklein contactwith said securer and secured against separation from the latter,whereby itis caused to be held by said securer within and overthe mouthof the Seal part in the fastened seal, substantially as hereinspecified.

3. In a self-fastening seal, a tleXible shackle of cord or twine, incombination with a brittle u hollow seal part of plastenof-paris moldedfast on one end of said shackle, an elastic securer attached to itsother'end, and a rigid pusher carried by said shackle in contact withsaid securer, whereby the latter may be thrust into said seal part tofasten the seal, substantially as herein specified.

EDWARD J. BRooKs.

Vitnesses:

HENRY L. C. WENK, JOHN S. JENNING-s.

